Apple Passes on the Super Bowl After All but Celebrates Mac With Film Shot by iPhone

Brand Was a No-Show at Advertising's Biggest Stage

Published on February 03, 2014.

Was this what Lee Clow was talking about? Last month the ad vet effortlessly whipped adland into a frenzy by tweeting about the Super Bowl and Mac's 30th birthday, leading to rumors that the brand would be making an appearance on advertising's biggest night. That didn't happen, but Monday morning, Apple released this film to celebrate Mac's birthday.

The film doesn't dwell on the Mac itself but the idea that it put technology into the hands of the people for the first time. It spotlights the "next thirty years" via the lens of another game-changing tech invention: Apple's iPhone, which was used to shoot the ad around the world on a single day. The spot was created via TBWA Media Arts Lab. The director is Jake Scott, the son of Ridley Scott, who directed Apple's lauded Super Bowl ad introducing Mac 30 years ago, "1984."